For the traders and other victims of last December 26 Lagos firecracker explosion, it has been one whole year of sadness, pain and deep sense of loss. They also recount how they have been left to their fate and are having to cope with the loss of lives as well billions of naira. Gboyega Alaka visited the scene and reports.
IT was five minutes past nine on the morning of December 26, 2012, and expectedly the hangover of Christmas celebration still hung in the air. Being also a public holiday, many were actually still sleeping, while a good number just had or were about settling down for another sumptuous breakfast, in line with the mood of the day. Firecrackers aka ‘banger’, aka ‘knock-outs’ were also still blasting recklessly and reverberating across the nooks and crannies of Lagos city, courtesy of youths who would rather die than miss out on the pseudo-war opportunity the yuletide period annually presents. This was especially the case on Ojo Giwa/Okoya Streets in Jankara area of Lagos Island on this fateful day.
A group of half-drunk and over-excited boys were passing by and as usual throwing bangers into the air to mark their passage, when one of the mini-explosives hit the roof of a three-storey building said to be a huge warehouse for loads of bangers and other mini-explosives. They probably didn’t know the house warehoused loads of banger or knew but never knew their action this time could change the situation of things in a matter of seconds and turn a day of celebration into one of pandemonium, death, sorrow and doom for several other people.
But that exactly was what happened. Within a couple of minutes, a serene environment that only had a few people streaming in to open their shops for what was expected to be a day of low sales, literally became a war zone, as one of the bangers triggered off a torrent of explosions and follow-up explosions that was to last about four days, kill four (including a fourteen year-old school boy waiting to proceed to UK to join the Chelsea Football Academy), raze down eight four-storey buildings, burn down over ten cars and destroy goods worth billions of naira, including cash in different currencies. The explosion also defied the strength of the fire fighters of a whole city, as all effort could not arrest the triggering explosives. A particular businessman was said to have lost stacks of US dollars bills, which he had stored ‘safely’ in his shop, ostensible for convenience of use.
According to Alhaji Kareem Arabambi, who sells bulbs and other electrical appliances in the vicinity of the explosion, the whole thing started rather unexpectedly from the building directly opposite his own stall, where the fire-crackers were being stored. Somehow, the importer of the fire-crackers and some of his staff had thought it wise to come in early to ventilate the warehouse/store in order to let out the heat, since they had only recently uploaded containers of the goods into the store. So they came around and opened the windows to allow in fresh air to cool the place.
“But you know, it was the 26th of December and all the young boys around were in celebration mood and shooting banger and other firecrackers indiscriminately. Somehow, I think one of the bangers found its way into the store and before we knew it, there was explosion everywhere, as one explosion ignited the other, leading to a war-like situation. The pandemonium was such that no-one knew where to run to. It was like a siege onto ourselves. The fact that many of us traders had also arrived made matters worse, as this also led to several cars numbering about 12 being burnt. I think the fire raged for almost two weeks before the last fire simmered. In all, about 12 buildings, all four-storey buildings were burnt down. As you can see, some of the affected buildings have totally collapsed, while the others still standing are good only for demolition. Even my shed, which as you can see is directly opposite was affected. Indeed, it was a terrible day. The fact that the house was stocked with dynamite further enhanced the damage as each explosion shook the buildings to their foundations. Even King ado high School, right behind my shed was affected. If you look closely, you’ll see that the government is still carrying out some renovations. Even I abandoned my stall and all my three children who were around at the time all ran for dear life, and we only regrouped much later.”
Speaking further, Arabambi disclosed that four lives were lost. Some, he said were trapped or caught-up in the staccato of the cracking fire, while some were trying to rescue some of their goods. “Across the road at the top of the building directly opposite the warehouse to the left was Murphy Hotel, which is now history.” Arabambi continued. “Even the hotelier himself lost his son, who was a student of King Ado High School.”
Asked if this reporter could meet and speak with some of the victims who lived in the affected buildings or were directly affected, Arabambi explained that most of them have left the area, seeing that there was nothing to wait on. He however disclosed that most of the people now selling in make-shift sheds around the burnt down houses, were some of the affected shop-owners who are trying to pick their pieces.
“These people,” he said, pointing “used to own shops and stores worth tens of millions of naira in the buildings.”
At this point, one of the curious onlookers, who had been eavesdropping on this interview volunteered to take this reporter to the hotelier, Olawale Marouf Awosanya popularly known as Murphy.
Agony of a man
Murphy is a dark broad-shouldered towering man of over six feet. On this particular day, he was assisting in one of the make-shift tents erected by the side of the road to sell imported cooker, steamers and stuffs. That, he said, is what he has been reduced to. He now ekes a living, helping with sales by the tent and gets paid one thousand naira daily. He is still practically homeless and depends more on assistance from friends to carry out some of his major financial obligations. Yet this was a man who owned a hotel that occupied most of top floor of 43, Ojo Giwa Street, where he also lived with his family. For a man who lost a son and a whole business and family belongings, he seems quite like a man who has put the sad incident behind him, until he started talking. His pain, as it were, derived more from the fact that he saw the danger coming, and yet could not prevent it. And he felt, and still feels let down by a government that refused to stand up to its duties and a police force that was practically an accomplice in the situation that led to the fire explosion and his loss.
Murphy admitted that he was aware that fire-crackers were being stored in one of the floors of number 45, Ojo Giwa Street. He was also aware that part of the floor, where his hotel was located, also housed some of these dangerous goods. As a matter of fact, he recalled how he was in the habit of voicing his fears on the dangers of the explosives, each time they were being offloaded into the warehouse.
“The batch of fire-crackers that eventually went on fire was brought in on the 24th of December in three fully loaded containers. And I remember asking them if this thing would not pose any danger, because I already thought that three-trailer loads were too much for a residential and commercial area. Even one the attendants responded by assuring me that they were not dangerous and that they were all mild fire crackers.”
He therefore concluded that his pain and anger stems from the fact that he saw the danger and yet couldn’t do anything. “The fact remains that we do not have the right to query our neighbours on what they are storing in their apartments or stores. We’ve all paid millions in rent and as such have exclusive rights to whatever we put in out apartments. So it is only the landlord that has the right to inquire about what you are storing in his building. And of course the Lagos State authority and the police. Now, whether the landlord knew about it or not, I do not know.”
Asked why he didn’t lodge a complaint to the police, Murphy shook his head and laughed wryly. “The police were helpless. Are you talking of the same police that usually escorted the goods to the warehouse and even lend a hand during the offloading?” He queried. “And yet the gentleman who brought this calamity on us all is a mere young man of about 36!” He shook his head again.
Death of a dream
His son, Hameed Olasunkanmi Awosanya was a young boy of 13 with huge football talents. He was an SS2 student of King Ado High School, which was also partially affected by the explosion. According to Murphy, “The boy was a boy of promising future and a great footballer already. Just before the fire incident, he had already been granted a United Kingdom visa to enable him proceed to Chelsea football Club’s Youth Academy. It was Debo Aransiola, who got him the visa, in his effort to help groom his huge talent. We only prevailed on him to hold on and finish his SS2 before traveling. If only we knew what laid in wait for him in Nigeria!” He lamented.
The whole incident, according to him, started at about five minutes past nine o’clock in the morning. He had only just retired indoors to take a rest, having woken up much earlier. Being a festival season, all his children, three of whom were undergraduates were all on holidays. Some boys were busy catching their fun downstairs, shooting fire-crackers and making as much noise as they could summon, which was not unusual for a Christmas period. Suddenly a fire-cracker crashed through one of his apartment’s windows, right into his room and exploded. Thinking that was unusual and probably the result of one of the over-exuberant boys, he made to gather himself up from the bed, only for another one to crash in, and another, and another. More fire-crackers crashed in and many more blasts reverberated everywhere and it suddenly dawned on him that something had gone wrong.
Murphy recalled that he had always prepared his children for emergency situations such as this, warning them to always make for the exit, rather than attempt to rescue anything. “So the moment this started, they all rushed for the exits. In fact, I was the last to come out. But unfortunately, we lost one of them to the explosion.”
The building had two exit staircases, with one opening directly opposite King Ado High School, while the other opened onto Ojo Giwa Street and directly opposite the house where the explosives were stored. Hameed obviously was hit by a barrage of these explosive and because everybody including the adults were all running for dear life, his little boy was left to die slowly in the mayhem.
Even he didn’t have any inkling of the disaster that had befallen him, until the day after, at the General Hospital, where he was being treated for burns. Murphy had sustained multiple burns in the process of the explosion, with his right leg badly burnt. He only became suspicious when it was announced on the news that an hotelier and his son had been killed in the inferno.
Complacency A
In one of the make-shift sheds was also Fausat Azeez; she sells bulbs and also used to have a shop in the building where the explosions began. She also lost goods worth loads of money and is only now trying to find her feet. She wasn’t yet in the market on the day of the incident, but her children had already come ahead of her to open the shop. She recalled the sadness that enveloped her the moment she got news of the explosion. “I immediately became very sad, especially when I got here and saw the enormity of the destruction, with the fire still raging and the bangers still going off. Truth be told, it is a day I would like to forget.” She said.
Did she see this incident coming?” We asked.
But Fausat only smiled wryly. “Look,” she said resignedly, “I’m only a little girl; it is the elders who should have spoken up and taken action. Who am I? People lost goods and money worth billions! Even now, one year after, we haven’t got anything in terms of compensation or help. Not from the importer of the explosives, not from the government and not from the landlord. As for me, I leave everything to God.”
As for Chukwuemeka Osuchukwu, who incidentally is the PRO of the Okoya/Ojo Giwa Traders Association, his major appeal is to his Excellency, the governor of Lagos State, to help them get back on their feet. As far as he is concerned, this journalistic mission is only a sad reminder of their huge loss, which they have been trying hard to forget and get over.
“Individually, most of us lost goods worth millions of naira because we lost everything. Even the shops were worth millions in rent. The least shop around here goes for around N50,000, and you have to pay for up to six months, one year or more.”
Chukwuemeka was relaxing in his apartment in Ajegunle area of Lagos, when he got the rude shock of a call from his friend that shattered his Christmas mood. He quickly headed for the market, only to find that everything was already beyond control. He recalled that the overall loss definitely ran into billions, since aside the building that were all three-storey, most of the traders had both packing shops (stores) upstairs and retail shops on the ground floors.
“A lot of people also lost cash in local and hard currencies.” Chukwuemeka added.
Unfulfilled promise
Cletus Nnadiukwu is the chairman of the Okoya/Ojo Giwa Traders Association. According to some members of the market, he was a man of means with a thriving electronics business. But that was before the explosion. He is one of whom even Murphy, the hotelier, said his loss aside the death of his own son- cannot be compared to. As at the time of the incident, Nnadiukwu had just paid N3.5million for a six-year rent. He also disclosed that he lost about N13million in all.
Overall, he said the losses of the affected traders and property owners would definitely be in billions of naira.
Today, and sadly too, he makes do with a shed from whence he tries to rally his fallen business and get on with life.
He is however not under any illusion that the government is owing him any kind of compensation. According to him, “They are not owing us anything. Neither did they enter into any contractual agreement with us.”
His association is therefore only appealing to the Lagos State governor to fulfill the promise he made to the traders on the day of the incident last year, so that he and his colleagues can be able to get back on their feet.
“The governor was here on that day, together with his commissioner for the Environment. The traders met with him and he promised on the spot to assist us. And we believe him; and that’s why we’re hoping.”
He revealed that even LASEMA (The Lagos State Environment Management Agency) had been seconded to the area to enumerate the number of people and the level of damage.
Nnadiukwu however denied knowing that the explosives were being stored in the buildings. “From our own investigation, it was only the landlord that knew because he was the one who let out the place to the importer. We also learnt that the importer, Mr. Semilore, is a relation of the landlord.”
Insurance
After that tragedy, the traders are now seriously considering insurance in case of future disasters. But up until now, none of them has entered into any kind of insurance, Nnadiukwu revealed.
He explained that there is a way the traders including himself, think when it comes to issues of insurance. First they like to always have their fund at the ready, second, ignorance, and third, suspicion. “There is the belief that insurance people are only out to dupe people and that you only see them when it is time to collect your money; while they make things nearly impossible when it is time for them to pay back.”
He agreed that the losses would have been greatly reduced if they all had insurance.
“Most of us are beginning to have a rethink; but that will have to wait until our businesses pick up again. Maybe we’ll even make it a union thing.” He revealed.
He concluded that last December 26 was one Boxing Day he will never forget.
“The explosion caught us all unawares, consuming virtually everything within its range. Aside the hotelier over there who lost his son, we also lost a mallam (a house guard), who got up from his sleep a little too late and was ‘attacked’ by hundreds of flying firecrackers. A particular woman popularly known as Iya Koro also lost her 15-year old daughter. Even the hotelier spent two months in the hospital while another, Wasiu was in the hospital for three months.
